Richard Abels

Cited In:

  • Alfred the Great: War, Kingship and Culture in Anglo-Saxon England. London: Longman Publishing, 2005.
  • "Household Men, Mercenaries and Vikings in Anglo-Saxon England.” in John France, ed., Mercenaries and Paid Men: The Mercenary Identity in the Middle Ages. Proceedings of a Conference held at University of Wales, Swansea, 7th-9th July 2005, 143-166. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2008.
  • “From Alfred to Harald II.” in The Normans and Their Adversaries at War, edited by Richard Abels, & Bernard Bachrach, 16-30. Rochester: Boydell Press, 2001.

Used For:

  • Richard Abels was primarily used in this project through his work with Bernard S. Bachrach on The Normans and Their Adversaries at War. In this monograph, he examines the Anglo-Saxon military apparatus and how it had changed from a solid defensive structure during the reign of Alfred into an undermined system which was relentlessly exploited by Scandinavian invaders. In the context of this project, Abels helps to illustrate the political and military conditions which lead Anglo-Saxon kings to employ Scandinavian mercenaries. His other work, “Household Men, Mercenaries and Vikings in Anglo-Saxon England the difference between the hyra-man (hired man) and the fyrd-man (the household man) and the term foederati.